chicken and dumplings

I know that I have posted of making Chicken and Dumplings before, but I haven't actually given a recipe. That is about to change! Even if the recipe will only be utilized by my kids after they leave home, that in itself is reason enough to write it out.

This is a much requested dish at our home and one that is very versatile. The 'Chicken' can be seitan, tofu, beans or extra vegetables. The biscuit mix is a variation of Simply Heavenly's Biscuit Mix. 

The broth in this 'stew' uses my VA Chicken-Style Broth Mix and water. 

Really a very simple and easy recipe (maybe because I've made it so often), the only heads-up would be to take care to have enough broth before you add the biscuit mix - it can be deceptive; you think there is too much broth, but by the time the biscuits are done they have soaked up a lot of it. 

Oh, and we LOVE the biscuit part of the dish, so this recipe has enough to satisfy any biscuit-lover.  

Cost Breakdown

oil, celery, onion, carrot, garlic: $2

seitan: $2

broth mix, spices and herbs: $.50

biscuit mix: $2

milk: $1

Total to make 5 servings:

$7.50

meat pies

Our family's most favorite musical is "Sweeney Todd" with Johnny Depp and Helena-Bonham Carter. Although Kate, 11, hasn't seen it, yet, we all love listening to the CD in the car and at home. For those unfamiliar with this classic (having been a musical on stage for decades), it is about a barber who is after vengeance against the man who destroyed his family, to put it mildly. Having gone a bit mental, he begins to kill his customers and baking them into meat pies. Yum. The song, 'Try the Priest,' is magical.

Every time I make pocket pies with veggie-meat, it reminds me of Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pies and I want to burst out it dance and song whilst baking.

The recipe uses the Flaky Biscuit dough for the crust, with added parsley (very easy), and a wonderful mixture of Boca burgers, minced, and broccoli in a thick, creamy gravy. If you use burgers, please remember to saute them before you use them - otherwise they gets a little mushy. The broccoli needs to be minced fine, as well, so you don't have huge chunks sticking out at all angles.

I've made these many times, and while not a low-fat food because of the Earth Balance in the dough, it sure is flaky, crispy and tasty!

Cost Breakdown

flour, Earth Balance, milk: $3

Boca, broccoli: $5

onion, garlic, mustard: $1

spices: $1

Total to make 14 pies:

$10.00

halloween stuffed biscuits

Happy October!

This is my favorite time of the year, the weather is cool, the wind is blowing and the holidays are approaching.

Autumn and Spring as to die for!

It was a hike day today and I wanted to introduce the kids to October in fashion. I made this Jack-O-Lantern biscuit to honor the upcoming fest and stuffed it with a simple Boca crumble mixture. I just sauteed the crumbles with onions and garlic and added a little mustard and ketchup to give it some binding. It was truly simple, but that is probably why the kids loved it.

The biscuit is a very easy recipe and they were puffed and flaky and crispy. I rolled it out, cut 2 circles (about 4-inches in diameter) for each Jack-O-Lantern, put about 1/4 cup filling on the bottom one, cut the eyes and nose (don't forget the nose like I did!) and a mouth, placed it on the filling and sealed the edges. Cut some stems from scraps and bake the scraps too, for a snack.

To make the filling, saute a package of soy grounds with 1/2 cup of onion and 2 minced garlic. When the grounds are browned, add 1 tablespoon ketchup, 1 tablespoon yellow mustard and salt and pepper to taste.

Make the biscuit dough recipe below and cut the dough into 12 (4-inch diameter) circles. Make eyes, nose and mouth on 6 of them. Put about 1/2 cup of the filing on the other six circles, top with the cut-out circles, seal the edges and spray with a little oil or brush with a little milk.
Bake.

So successful!

Cost Breakdown:

flours: $1.50

Earth Balance, baking powder: $.50

almond milk: $1

Boca crumbles: $4

mustard, ketchup, onion, garlic: $1

Total to make 6 Stuffed Biscuits:

$8.00

jamaican veggie purses

Jamaican food is African inspired, so it is appropriate for our Tuesday Night meal. This one comes out of Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry. I picked up this book when Vegan.com spread the word that it was on sale for $8. This  has to be one of the better cookbooks out there. I've had great success with many of his recipes, and this one is no exception.

He uses coconut butter in the crust and coconut milk in the recipe. There are fresh cut corn, fresh shelled peas (CSA), carrots and shredded cabbage. The salad is cucumbers and tomatoes in a dressing of lime, lemon and orange juices, from the same book.

Excellent meal, although Cat does not like coconut milk - tastes too odd. The other two gobbled it up.

Cost Breakdown:

crust: $2

vegetables: $2

coconut milk: $1.50

salad: $2.50

spices, onion, garlic: $1

Total to make 6 purses:

$9.00

We have a bunch of blueberries and since blueberry season is almost over, and since GiGi at Veganville blogspot has a recipe for said blueberries and coconut milk, it was destiny.

Great dessert; thanks GiGi!

cauliflower hand pies

European/Potato Night

For tonight's meal, we nod to the British Isles. We had savory hand pies. I made it with cauliflower and some soy curls in a creamy gravy. The soy curls are optional here, in my opinion, since the cauliflower is the star. For hand pies to work, the gravy needs to be outstanding. If the gravy is insufficient or tasteless the whole pie is doomed. To make these pies more flavorful I added 1/4 c of Dijon mustard to the gravy which I made with almond milk and a roux. 

Do not be afraid of the pastry! As overwhelming as I've found it to be in the past. I guess my hesitation in making pastry lies in all the mess. Flour everywhere! Not anymore. I use a little oil spray instead of flour to roll my dough. The dough! It must be flaky! Cakes must be moist, doughs must be flaky. This must be why I am not a pastry chef- the dough phobia. I am happy to report that that is all in the past. My dough is flaky and since I like more bang for all my bucks, I use whole wheat flour and lace it with herbs. 

Delicious! ~ I type as I write this with a mouth full of creamy cauliflower wrapped in a flaky herbed -dough.

Cost Breakdown:

dough: $1
1/2 cauliflower: $2

onion, pepper, garlic, spices: $1.50

soy curls: $1

milk: $.50

Total to make 8, 4" pies:

$6.00